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Malta Residence update - January 2014
31/01/2014

On 29th January 2014 in a Joint Press Statement the EU Commission and the Government of Malta announced changes to the Individual Investor Programme that had been introduced by Malta last year.

Under the scheme as originally published, individuals who satisfy the strict due diligence and vetting requirements and the requirement to invest a minimum of €1.15 million would be offered Maltese citizenship, which would carry with it the advantages of citizenship of an EU Member State.

In the face of criticism within the EU that the scheme ‘cheapened EU citizenship’, Malta has revised the scheme to take into account the concerns expressed by the EU. In addition to the requirements outlined above, the applicants are required to demonstrate a genuine link with Malta through proving their effective residence status before being granted Maltese citizenship. The requirement will be met by applicants spending at least one year resident in Malta immediately before the certificate of naturalisation is issued.

Initially Malta capped the number of successful applicants to 1,800 individuals, excluding their close relatives, and is now considering whether the cap should be raised.

• Investment in Bond/Shares in Malta to be kept for 5 years. This investments will need to be made in stocks sanctioned by the government as beneficial to the Island. Clean Source of Funds, Clean Bill of Health